PIZZA DEBUT Mark your calendars: Build Pizzeria Roma, which we wrote about in October, is set to open in downtown Berkeley at 2286 Shattuck Ave. on April 11. We’ve been told the 120 plus-seat “loft-like contemporary dining room, designed by Lisa Holt and Abueg Morris Architects, includes repurposed materials from local sources” and has a contemporary Italian feel. It joins other pizza newcomers Pizza MODA on University, in the former Fellini space, and Sliver Pizzeria (in a small storefront on Center Street). (There are also Kensington pizzeria Benchmark and Jules Thin Crust, which was set to open in March in Rockridge, not to mention The Forge in Jack London Square.) … Continue reading »

The new Berkeley Taxicab Association has been formed to “put muscle behind years of complaint that have gone nowhere”. The East Bay Express has a fascinating article on the problems faced by taxi drivers in Berkeley, who find rivals from Oakland and Emeryville poaching their fares, fee changes, and unwritten rules that make their job harder.

It’s a window into another aspect of business in Berkeley that hasn’t been covered before. Read the whole thing.